Arthur Rosen puzzled over the photocopied sheet of paper listing all sorts of exotic bets on baseball games [url=http://www.jaguarscheapstore.com/logan-cooke-jersey-cheap]Logan Cooke Jersey Jaguars[/url] , including one in which the number of runs scored and hits made in Tuesday night’s New York Yankees-Seattle Mariners game had to exceed 29.

”I lived in Vegas 20 years and I never heard of a bet like that,” the 83-year-old retired truck driver said.

Rosen was one of more than 100 people at a New Jersey racetrack at 1:30 on a Tuesday afternoon, ready to plunk down money on professional sports in the first week it has been legal here. Although revenue figures won’t be released for a few weeks yet, Monmouth Park racetrack and Atlantic City’s Borgata casino say they’re delighted with the extra business sports betting has generated in its first few days.

”We’re really pleased with the early results, especially considering it’s a slow time on the sports betting calendar,” said Joe Asher, CEO of William Hill US, which runs the sports book at Monmouth Park.

Likewise, the Borgata is seeing an uptick in business at its race book, which has been expanded to cover sports bets.

”The revenue was definitely beyond what it would have been,” said spokeswoman Liza Costandino.

Sports betting is bringing new demographics into what was traditionally an older, male clientele at the Borgata’s horse racing betting operation. Younger customers are stopping in to bet on sports, including more women.

”A full bachelorette party came in and they all made sports bets,” Costandino said.

The casinos and tracks report their sports betting revenue to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, which will publicly release monthly totals along with traditional casino revenue. The next such report is due for release July 12 [url=http://www.chicagobearsteamonline.com/tarik-cohen-jersey]Kyle Long Jersey Youth[/url] , and neither the Borgata nor Monmouth would reveal their totals before then.

Last month, New Jersey won a U.S. Supreme Court case that cleared the way for all 50 states to offer sports betting, including wagers on individual games, should they desire. Delaware was the first state to begin doing so after the court decision; New Jersey was the second.

So far in New Jersey, just the Borgata and Monmouth Park are offering sports betting. The soon-to-open Ocean Resort Casino, formerly known as Revel, is due to open June 28 and plans to offer sports betting on its first day of operation, owner Bruce Deifik said.

The property will go before state gambling regulators on Wednesday to seek a casino license. William Hill will run the sports betting operation for Ocean Resort as well as Monmouth Park. Eventually, most of Atlantic City’s casinos (there will be nine by the end of next week) and its three racetracks plan to offer sports betting.

Both facilities said the early action has been mostly on individual baseball games and World Cup soccer matches. Customers also are making long-term bets on who will win the World Series or Super Bowl, a market segment expected to increase as the baseball playoffs and the start of the NFL season draw closer in the fall.

Michael Black, of Tinton Falls, New Jersey, was at Monmouth Park to wager on Tuesday’s Cubs-Dodgers baseball game, betting that the two teams combined would score 9 or more runs. A boiler installer, Black tends to be busier in the fall [url=http://www.thejaguarsfootballauthentic.com/dj-chark-jersey-authentic]Youth DJ Chark Jersey[/url] , and has been able to visit Monmouth Park several times since sports betting began last Thursday. He’s up $175 so far, he said.

”As soon as football opens, this place is going to be packed,” he said. ”This has been a long time coming.”

Fred Reyes, of Jersey City, had been to the track four times since last Thursday, and had yet to lose a sports bet.

”So far I’m up close to $1,000,” he said, betting on the Cubs to win Tuesday.

Rosen was enjoying the many novel ways he could risk money on sporting events, particularly on a bet combining runs and hits in a baseball game.

”The Mets and Colorado is 32,” he said. ”That’s a whole lot. You think the Yankees will score in the first inning? It’s tough, huh?”

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Follow Wayne Parry at General manager Marty Hurney felt he needed to upgrade team speed after the Panthers failed to win the NFC South the last two seasons.

He believes he’s done just that in the NFL draft.

The Panthers selected field-stretching tight end Ian Thomas from Indiana and speed rusher Marquis Haynes from Ole Miss in the fourth round, and middle linebacker Jermaine Carter from Maryland in the fifth. They closed out the final day by taking middle linebacker Andre Smith from North Carolina and defensive tackle Kendrick Norton from Miami in the seventh round.

Carolina placed a major emphasis on adding speed, a pattern established in the first two days of the draft when it took wide receiver D.J. Moore from Maryland in the first round [url=http://www.jetsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-thomas-rawls-jersey]Jets Thomas Rawls Jersey[/url] , cornerback Donte Jackson from LSU in the second and safety Rashaan Gaulden in the third.

”I have always believed that you can’t teach speed – and that is a big part of this game,” Hurney said. ”You have to be big and you have to be physical, but you have to be fast, too. Coming into this offseason that was one of our goals to add speed, especially to the skill positions.”

The Panthers had won three straight NFC South titles before Atlanta won in 2016 and New Orleans triumphed in 2017.

They lost three times to the Saints last year, including a wild-card playoff loss at the Superdome.

”One of the things that you have to do is look at your division,” coach Ron Rivera said. ”To get into the playoffs you have to win your division. … So when you compare those teams in your division with what you have you most certainly have to be able to match up with those guys across the board.”

THOMAS’ TOUGH ROAD

The Panthers got the third day of the NFL draft started by selecting Thomas with the first pick in the fourth round. They believe he is from the same mold as Greg Olsen with the versatility to catch passes and block.

Thomas was raised by his siblings after both of his parents died before he was 10 years old -his mother from a kidney infection and his father from a heart attack a year later. Thomas has eight siblings in all, but was primarily raised by his brother, Clif Farmer.

”I always thank him any chance I get for helping us growing up and for helping me become the man I am today,” Thomas said. ”He knows how much love I have for him and how much love he has for all of us. I know it’s just a blessing to have him as an older brother and a role model.”

WHAT A JOKER

The Panthers are high on Haynes, even though he’s slight for an NFL defensive end at 235 pounds. Still, he broke Greg Hardy’s career record for sacks at Ole Miss with 32.

But Rivera also likes that Haynes can drop back in coverage and play the team’s ”joker” position.

Rivera says Haynes’ pass-rushing skills remind him of current Panthers defensive end Mario Addison.

”I got a knack for my first step, getting off the ball, because it really makes the offensive lineman really think that they have to overstep, I could then take an inside move [url=http://www.ravensauthorizedshops.com/authentic-robert-griffin-iii-jersey]http://www.ravensauthorizedshops.com/authentic-robert-griffin-iii-jersey[/url] ,” Haynes said. ”But if they don’t, I can just run right around them and get to the quarterback.”

SWAGGER TIME

When the Panthers pulled the franchise tag on cornerback Josh Norman two years ago, they lost some serious swagger in the secondary.

Well, that attitude appears back courtesy of second-round pick Donte ”Action” Jackson from LSU. Although he’s only 5-foot-10 and 178 pounds, Jackson is plenty confident. When asked who’s the fastest player on the Carolina roster he responded quickly, ”Me, Donte Jackson.”

”Yeah I’m fast, but my mentality and my toughness and my confidence and my swagger is all there, it’s all football,” Jackson said. ”You know, that’s one thing I like to pride myself on. I never really liked to listen to people say I’m too small because I’ve been listening to that my whole life and it just adds fuel to the fire.”

Jackson’s father was in prison when he was growing up; he said he still speaks with him every other day.

STILL NEED

The Panthers never did find a replacement for running back Jonathan Stewart, cut during the offseason in a salary cap move. Rivera said that Cameron Artis-Payne will get ”the first crack” as the No. 2 back behind Christian McCaffrey. Carolina also didn’t draft a guard despite losing All-Pro Andrew Norwell to the Giants in free agency.

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